ANAHEIM, Calif. — Earl of Sandwich will return to Downtown Disney, temporarily replacing La Brea Bakery Cafe's retail storefront near the Esplanade after the latter abruptly exited the restaurant business Monday.

Eventually, Porto's Bakery will take over the La Brea Bakery retail area when the famed Cuban bake shop and cafe arrives at Downtown Disney. 


What You Need To Know

  • Earl of Sandwich, temporarily, and later, Porto's, permanently, will replace La Brea Bakery's retail footprint at Downtown Disney

  • La Brea Bakery officials said it is exiting the restaurant business, shuttering its flagship Los Angeles and Anaheim locations

  • Porto's is building a brand new retail store at Downtown Disney, its seventh in Southern California

  • The tenant changes are part of a bigger plan to transform Downtown Disney into an entertainment, shopping and restaurant destination

“Plans are underway to design and construct an all-new Porto’s location near the Esplanade on the footprint of the La Brea Bakery location,” Disneyland officials said Monday. “We look forward to sharing more about these exciting plans in the future.”

On Monday, Aspire Bakeries, the parent company of the La Brea Bakery, made a “strategic business decision” to close its flagship Los Angeles and Downtown Disney Anaheim locations and focus on its grocery retail business. 

The cafe and artisan bread shop had been at Downtown Disney since 2001 and was a consistent dining option for Disneyland visitors for more than 20 years. The original La Brea Bakery flagship store at 468 La Brea Avenue has been around since 1989.

The franchised La Brea Bakery kiosks at the Reno International Airport in Nevada and JFK Airport in New York will remain open, said Kelly Richardson, a spokesperson for La Brea Bakery.

“Consistent with their strategy, Aspire Bakeries will focus on growing the La Brea Bakery business in retail grocery and food service,” she wrote in an email to Spectrum News. “The breads are still available at supermarkets nationwide.”

Richardson said La Brea Bakery employees in Anaheim were able to participate in a job fair at Disneyland immediately after the abrupt announcement. Disney, she told Spectrum News, is making positions available for all the La Brea Bakery employees.

La Brea Bakery’s exit from Downtown Disney comes as no surprise for many Disney fans and retail insiders, as Porto’s would have provided stiff competition between the two had they both co-existed in the same area. 

The famous Cuban bakery and cafe is slated to open its seventh location in Southern California once its permanent storefront is built at Downtown Disney. Disney officials did not disclose an opening date.

Disney officials said Earl of Sandwich would take over La Brea Bakery's retail building in the coming weeks. The popular sandwich shop initially closed its original Downtown Disney location near the ESPN Zone and AMC Theater in 2018 to make way for a new Disney hotel. But those plans never materialized, and new reimagining plans for that area of Downtown Disney have since been announced

Since then, Earl of Sandwich has become a pop-up in Downtown Disney but will eventually have a permanent home there.

The changes are also part of more prominent and significant plans from Disney to transform Downtown Disney into an entertainment, shopping and restaurant destination. 

Also coming to Downtown Disney is Din Tai Fung and Michelin-starred Chef Carlos Gaytan’s Paseo and Centrico in the coming years. Din Tau Fung will be located on the west side of the Downtown Disney District, where the AMC Theater was formerly located. Meanwhile, Gaytan's restaurants will take over the current Catal Restaurant and Uva Bar in the center of Downtown Disney.